Patterns of Power: Inviting Young Writers into the Conventions of Language, Grades 1-6

Quick Overview

Jeff Anderson and literacy coach Whitney La Rocca take you into
primary and intermediate classrooms where students are curious about language,
engage with the world around them, and notice and experiment with the
conventions all writers use. The first part of the book introduces a vibrant
approach to grammar instruction and sets up what you need to immerse yourself
in the Patterns of Power process, inviting students to experiment and play with
language. The second part of the book offers over seventy practical,
ready-to-use lessons, including extensive teacher-ready support materials; over
100 mentor sentences, curated for Years 1-6; student work samples; tips and
power notes to facilitate your own knowledge and learning; and examples for
application.

Jeff Anderson and literacy coach Whitney La Rocca take you into
primary and intermediate classrooms where students are curious about language,
engage with the world around them, and notice and experiment with the
conventions all writers use. Instead of chanting grammar rules or completing
countless convention worksheets, they invite young writers to explore
conventions as special effects devices that activate meaning. Their students
study authentic texts and come to recognise these “patterns of power” – the
essential grammar conventions that readers and writers require to make meaning.

The first part of the book introduces a vibrant approach to
grammar instruction and sets up what you need to immerse yourself in the Patterns of Power process, inviting
students to experiment and play with language. The second part of the book
offers over seventy practical, ready-to-use lessons, including:

Extensive teacher-ready support materials

Over 100 mentor sentences, curated for
Years 1–6

Student work samples

Tips and power notes to facilitate your
own knowledge and learning

Examples for application

Patterns of Power invites you to take just five minutes
from your reading workshop and five minutes from your writing workshop to focus
on conventions. Those ten minutes will have a miraculous effect on your
students’ understanding of how language works for readers and writers.